1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector, in particular a circuit board connector, and to a connector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. S61-60486 discloses a circuit board connector with a tubular receptacle and terminal fittings mounted in the receptacle. The receptacle has opposite side walls, and board fixing portions bulge out sideways from the bottom ends of the outer surfaces of the side walls. Screw holes are formed in the board fixing portions, and screws are inserted into the screw holes from beneath the board. The screws then are tightened to fix the connector on the board. The connector of Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. S61-60486 requires an undesirably large installation space on the circuit board due to the outwardly bulging board fixing portions.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-166491 discloses a miniaturized circuit board connector with a receptacle and mounting grooves recessed in the side walls of the receptacle. Fixing members are mounted in the mounting grooves and are soldered to the circuit board to fix the connector on the circuit board. The circuit board connector disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-166491 achieves miniaturization in the width direction of the connector. However, a demand also exists to reduce the height of the connector.
A shorter connector can be achieved by thinning the upper or lower walls of the receptacle. However, a thin upper wall may crack or may break and roll up when an upward tensile force acts on the housing. Upward forces can be generated, for example, while fitting a mating housing into the receptacle or while pulling wires drawn out of the housing. A roll-up preventing means between the receptacle and the housing has been considered. However, an additional roll-up preventing structure could complicate the connector and could be inconsistent with the original demand to miniaturize the connector in the width and height directions.
The invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object is to prevent a receptacle from being rolled up without enlarging the connector.